Guinea PM Acknowledges Camara as Country's New Leader

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Guinea's prime minister has acknowledged the leader of this week's coup, Moussa Camara, as the new head of the country.

Prime
Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare and about 30 other government officials
turned themselves in at an army barracks outside Conakry Thursday, after
Camara announced they had 24 hours to surrender or be hunted down.

The
prime minister had been in hiding since Tuesday, when Camara and fellow
military officers announced their coup following the death of Guinea's
longtime President Lansana Conte.

In remarks to reporters late
Wednesday, Camara declared himself the new president. He has promised
elections by the end of 2010, but says he has no plans to run in the
poll.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy Thursday called for free and transparent elections to be organized soon.

Witnesses
say life was returning to normal in the Guinean capital Thursday , with
businesses reopening and people and traffic returning to the streets.
A curfew announced Wednesday has been postponed until Friday, after the
Christmas holiday.

That is the day the military junta plans to hold a funeral for President Conte at the main stadium and Grand Mosque.

Despite
the general calm in Guinea, the coup has drawn strong criticism
abroad. The United States has said it may cut off aid to the West
African country if civilian, democratic and constitutional rule is not
restored.

The African Union Peace and Security Council also condemned the coup during an emergency meeting in Ethiopia Wednesday.